19 of 30* NATO countries fail to meet the alliance’s defense spending target

Former US President Donald Trump has reiterated his call for scolded NATO members who still fail to meet the trans-Atlantic alliance’s defense spending target.

Every member state of the alliance is committed to spending at least 2% of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on defense – something that is yet to be achieved by as many as 19 of NATOs 30 nations, according to the recently release NATO estimates from July 2023.

The top-ten list includes:

• France (1.9% spent on defense)
• Montenegro (1.87%)
• North Macedonia (1.87%)
• Bulgaria (1.84%)
• Croatia (1.79%)
• Albania 1.76%
• Netherlands (1.7%)
• Norway (1.67%)
• Denmark (1.65%)
• Germany (1.57%)

On their heels are the Czech Republic (1.5%), Portugal (1.48%), Italy (1.46%), Canada (1.38%), Slovenia (1.35%), Turkiye (1.31%), Spain (1.26%), Belgium (1.13%), and Luxembourg (0.72%)

*Iceland, a member state, does not have any armed forces, which is why it was omitted from the list.

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What did world leaders look like in their youth?

Sputnik joined the 'Let's See You at 21' trend and prepared a special video to show you some of world leaders in their youth.

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2024 Munich Security Index: Most G7 nations no longer see Russia as top threat

Only the UK and Japan consider Russia to be a "major risk" while most G7 countries are now much more concerned about radical Islamic terrorism, mass migration and climate change, judging from the 2024 Munich Security Index (MSI). The poll saw Russia drop from the first to the fourth place in the "risk bump chart" for G7 industrialized economies.

▪️Canada ranked Russia third, placing extreme weather and destruction of natural habitats as the top two major risks.

▪️France ranked Russia sixth: the nation's top five perceived major risks now include: radical Islamic terrorism; mass migration; climate change generally; extreme weather and forest fires; racism and other discrimination.

▪️Germany ranked Russia seventh. The country's top six major risks are mass migration; radical Islamic terrorism; cyberattacks; international organized crime; destruction of natural habitats; rising inequality.

▪️Italy ranked Russia 12th.

▪️The US ranked Russia fourth (seeing cyberattacks, political polarization, and China as greater threats).

▪️Only Japanese and UK respondents say that Russia remains the number one threat for them.

For comparison's sake, in November 2021, Russia was ranked 15th in the risk bump chart for the seven industrialized economies.

The latest change in perception could be explained by growing domestic problems in G7 states as well as the Ukraine fatigue phenomenon amid the Kiev regime's failures on the battlefield and reports of swirling Ukraine corruption.

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Top 3 Joe Biden highlights from the past week:

✅ Spoke to a deceased French president

✅ Couldn't stand next to the king of Jordan

✅ Confused the presidents of Mexico and Egypt

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📹 Russia's FPV drone operators identify and destroy targets in the South Donetsk.

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Ukrainian troops switched from offensive to defensive actions, Alexander Syrsky told German media before his appointment as commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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US Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene blasts pro-Ukraine Republicans and Democrats

"America has been enslaved with $34 trillion of debt and yet over the weekend the Senate worked overtime to pass a $95 billion package to fund foreign wars. Not a penny of that goes to anything for any American."

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▪️Pepe Escobar: Life during wartime – on the road in Donbass

▪️Big Pharma’s Mariupol hospital docs shows West’s obsession to keep Ukraine in US ‘orbit of influence’

▪️What did world leaders look like in their youth?

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▪️19 of 30 NATO countries fail to meet the alliance’s defense spending target

▪️Where in Europe are farmers protesting?

▪️UK aircraft carrier breakdowns reveal real state of Royal Navy

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🇮🇱🇸🇾 Israeli jets have attacked using cruise missiles the Nayrab airport in Syria's Aleppo from the territory of Lebanon on February 12, Rear Adm. Vadim Kulit, deputy head of the Russian Defense Ministry's Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in Syria, said on Tuesday.

"Two F-16 tactical fighter jets of the Israeli air force launched an air strike with two cruise missiles at Nayrab International Airport in the Aleppo province from the territory of Lebanon without entering Syrian airspace on February 12," the official told a briefing, adding that as a result of the strike three civilian airport employees were injured.

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Plans to create pan-European army theoretical at best

Europe’s lack of virtually all of the components needed to establish some sort of joint European armed force makes all discussions about enacting such a scheme hypothetical at best, says German political analyst and independent journalist Dr. Gregor Spitzen.

“The EU has neither free money nor motivated soldiers, nor a functioning defense industry, nor even capable generals to create such a force,” he said.

According to Dr. Spitzen, even if such military force were created, its “real maximum” would amount to providing disaster relief and helping with vaccination during a pandemic.

“Considering that even European troops within the NATO structure (e.g. the German Bundeswehr) show very limited combat capability during military maneuvers, and the German generals are even more incompetent in commanding military units, there are very serious doubts that individual European armed forces will be able to become a real defense of the peoples of Europe, rather than an unnecessary burden that can only eat up taxpayers' money in peacetime,” he argued.

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The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has eliminated more than 10,000 Hamas fighters in the Gaza Strip, including many commanders, since the escalation of the Middle East conflict, but much remains to be done to reach the war's objectives, IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said.

"So far, we have eliminated over 10,000 terrorists, including many commanders. This is what dismantling Hamas means. Our military achievements, as I previously mentioned, are very high, but there is still a long way to go before we can achieve the war's objectives. We need to eliminate the senior leadership, eliminate more of the enemy's commanders and operatives, return civilians to their homes safely, and bring the hostages home — a supreme mission and moral obligation," Halevi said in a statement published by the IDF on Telegram.

The IDF continues to operate "wherever terrorism exists" and does not intend to stop, Halevi added.

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A US military base sitting on natural oil and gas fields in eastern Syria was shelled three times within one hour, a local Syrian source told Sputnik.

"Within less than an hour, the US base was attacked three times - first two, then three more missiles were fired at it, the US air defences were unable to intercept them. During the third strike, more than 10 missiles were fired and struck the base, causing a fire to break out," the source said.

According to the source, the US military responded to the incident by shelling the attackers' positions. US attack helicopters have since been deployed to patrol the area.

The US armed forces illegally control territories in the east and northeast of Syria in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor, Al-Hasakah, and Raqqa, where Syria's largest oil and gas fields are located. Damascus has repeatedly called the presence of the US military on its territory an occupation and state piracy for the purpose of blatantly stealing the nation's oil.

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Tucker Carlson's interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin, which the mainstream US media chose to ignore, has been viewed 200 million times on X since February 9.

The video has also been reposted 308,000 times, and more than one million people have "liked" the interview.

The number of views of the video on YouTube has exceeded 16.2 million.

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US President Joe Biden is the only one who can order the US to use nuclear weapons, and he, according to the recent report, has difficulty recalling facts and details, so the risk of an accidental nuclear war caused by the US has recently increased dramatically, Mikhail Popov, the deputy secretary of the Russian Security Council, told the Russian newspaper Izvestia.

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US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to return home from hospital later on Tuesday following medical treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Defense Department deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

"Secretary Austin is still at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and is in good condition," Singh said during a press briefing on Tuesday. "We anticipate Secretary Austin will be released from the hospital later today."

Austin is still expected to participate in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which is scheduled to take place via video link on Wednesday and deliver the opening remarks, Singh added.

Earlier this week, Austin was hospitalized for the second time since January and transferred his powers to Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who still retains them.

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